Takeru, May-Sept 2009

This Japanese restaurant is not obvious to the unfamiliar. It has no street frontage nor signage and is tucked away up the back corner of the first level of Victoria Plaza. Its dark wooden interior and dim lighting near the doorway don’t do it any favours in attracting customers either. Despite all this the place is mostly full, even into the early afternoons, as I attest when Mistress introduces me to its tasty fare.

There is a half-mezzanine level within which is decorated in pale wood and is much more brightly lit. At the foot of the stairs to the mezzanine is a cute little children’s play area replete with LCD TV usually with Japanese anime or Thomas the Tank Engine on rotation. Takeru is dominated by booth seating with only a few free-standing tables near the door, but all have access to their own touchscreen menus. I know these have been around for a while but the novelty of flicking through photos and reading their descriptions (sometimes in Japlish) has yet to wear off for me.

Takeru Chatswood is the sister restaurant to Takeru Chinatown and does not major in either sushi or sashimi. Sure, there’s sashimi on the menu but it’s more of a passing thought in amongst all the other Japanese-style café dishes. I have eaten here at least ten times over the past seven months but I have yet to order the sashimi. There are too many detractors, especially the selection of half-size dishes which inversely equate to double the sampling rate!

Takeru’s ‘Seafood Salad’ contains dice-sized sashimi pieces decorated with creamy mayonnaise sitting on mixed salad leaves, tomato wedges, cucumber slices and kernels of corn dressed with a vinegary mixture. The ‘Takeru Salad’ which, according to the menu is “very popular”, has a sliced boiled egg served next to grilled chicken which has been marinated in soy sauce, and renkon chips served on top of mixed salad leaves with a sesame dressing.

More renkon chips are abound in the ‘Soft-shell Crab Salad’. The crab is lightly dusted with parmesan which gives it an interesting aroma when served but doesn’t intrude too much on the taste. Soft-shell crab can also be found with a serve of crisp-coated agedashi tofu, topped with a generous helping of bonito flakes.

Takeru offers a few Japanese interpretations of pizzas, including one which is topped with mochi slices. The pizza bases are soft, light, slightly sweet and quite more-ish. I’ve tried the ‘Squid Ink Pizza’ but expected it to taste more distinctly ‘inky’, although I’m not at all sure what I expected ink to taste like! In actuality the ink has very little taste – perhaps a faintly bitter aftertaste – but offers the pizza a very saucy texture. My favourite has to be the ‘Mentai Hotate Pizza’ with its sweet, barbeque-like sauce contrasted with the salty mentai and sweet scallops.

Takeru has a range of dishes which are available as half-serves, presumably for children or those wanting a light snack, which serve as a chance for people like me to taste test many more items. Amongst my favourite are the ‘Half-serve Gyu-tan Curry’ and the ‘Half-serve Mentai Spaghetti’. The ox tongue is very tender and comes in a pool of smooth Japanese curry while the spaghetti is usually linguine, and comes with a mix of seafood, sticky mentai, okra and mushrooms in a thin creamy sauce.

The ‘Half-serve Tonkatsu Doria’ is a dish of tomato-flavoured rice topped with a fried pork cutlet smothered in a white sauce and melted cheese. It arrives piping hot and is very warming, not to mention rather rich as well!

The ‘Half-serve Omelette Rice’ features more of the tomato rice, but enclosed in a thin egg omelette with a side of meat sauce. It is large for a half-serve, quite filling, and exceptional value for its price of $5.90.

Also on my recommended list are the ‘Half-serve Unagi Cha-han’ and the ‘Half-serve Teriyaki Chicken Don’. The eel fried rice is smoky and garlicky with perfectly separated granules of rice topped with shredded nori. The teriyaki chicken is sweet and sticky without being overly salty or dark in colour.

The ‘Ika Butter Shoyu’ is not a half-serve, but just happens to be a serve at the smaller end of the spectrum of tender squid rings which are a bit too oily for my liking.

Takeru has a page (yes, there are printed menus too) of bentos under its ‘Lunch Specials’ section which are unfortunately not available at other times. They provide a generous meal with the usual inclusions of rice and miso soup. Standards in Takeru’s bentos are agedashi tofu, potato croquette and ebi-fry (prawn) with runny egg salad that has much mayonnaise. I usually choose the ‘main’ of Japanese barbequed beef because it has a nice charred flavour, is juicy and comes in a sweet soy sauce. Of course there are other options which include salmon and chicken.

I don’t normally order dessert here, and one of the few things I’ve tried is the ‘Chiffon Cake with Green Tea Ice-cream’. Feather-light green tea sponge is served with creamy green tea ice-cream. The sponge has a thin, chewy ‘crust’ while the inside of the cake is smooth and springy rather than buttery and crumby.

Service is swift and hardly requires conversation here, but the food and comfortable surrounds are what keep me coming back.

Takeru Chatswood

Shop 10, Victoria Plaza, 369 Victoria Ave, Chatswood NSW

Tel: (02) 9412 1203

Opening Hours:  Mon-Wed  12pm-9:30pm

Thurs-Sat  12pm-10pm

Sun  12pm-9:30pm

happy eating!

Swissôtel, 13 Aug & 15 Sept 2009

Weirdo and I at one stage had regular coffee dates every Wednesday evening. Due to job changes, job requirements and other demands, these are now very few and far between. But when we do get together we like it to be somewhere with a comfortable setting, where we can sit and talk for hours on end without feeling pressure to order more food or drink or to promptly vacate the premises once our goods have been consumed.

On two occasions, we find ourselves at the Crossroads Bar of Swissôtel. Located on level eight of the building, it shares the floor with the hotel’s check-in reception desk and several function rooms. We settle ourselves into some comfy armchairs and conversation while we ponder the menu.

We decide to order a few things from different parts of the bar menu that are suitable for languid picking and sharing. We start with the crisp-based ‘Tomato Rustic’ pizza, which is served on a small, round, chopping board, and the ‘Mezze Plate’ which consists of several cheeses, cold meats, pickles, balsamic vinegar with olive oil, garlic dip and a pâté. Crusty bread is served alongside but, as with most places, there is not enough of it.

The bowl of potato wedges are ordered as an afterthought, following their appearance at several nearby tables. Both the aromas and the sight of their golden coating appeal to our senses. And they do not disappoint, with each potato segment being evenly coated in seasoning, evenly fried and cooked all the way to the centre, and with none sticking together in a huddled heap.

We make a return visit about a month later, but arrive roughly half an hour earlier than our previous meeting. We receive some interesting table service when Weirdo enquires what the house red is, and the waitress’ answer is, “Um... I go check…” She returns to tell us it is a pinot noir, which Weirdo happily orders, and I ask for a cranberry juice. The waitress double-checks whether I want something of an alcoholic nature and reminds me that it is “happy time.”

Happy time, indeed! I decline the offer and start making headway into the bowl of complimentary nibblies that accompany Weirdo’s wine. After finishing our drinks we decide on having the ‘Parma ham, spinach, pumpkin and ricotta calzone’ and the ‘Wagyu beef burger’ to share. The calzone more resembles a pide but with a thin and crispy enclosure. It is pre-sliced into several pieces that, when pulled apart, reveals oodles of stringy cheese. The pumpkin pieces are finely diced and sweet but what I love is the salty, salty Parma ham.

The Wagyu burger is served on an ordinary sesame bun and has a nice, moist patty, but the taste does get a little lost amongst the other ingredients – there’s a fried egg, bacon, cheese, beetroot, tomato and lettuce. The burger arrives cut in two as we’ve requested, alongside a bounty of crispy fries which we fail to finish. The fries aren’t as thin cut as I recall from previous visits but are still good.

About a week later Mistress called Swissôtel to make a group reservation for cocktails as part of my hen’s day, and was concerned no one had called her closer to the date to confirm. When she followed the matter up by calling them to enquire, she was told the reservation did not exist but that it could be arranged. So it seems service can be a little variable of late, and it is lucky she followed the booking up herself!

Crossroads Bar, Swissôtel

Level 8, 68 Market St, Sydney NSW

Tel: (02) 9238 7082

Opening Hours:  Sun-Thurs  10am-11pm

                        Fri & Sat  10am-12am

happy eating!

Hikaru & ice+slice, 3 Sept 2009

I didn’t have anything planned for Monsieur Poisson’s birthday because he needed to attend a suit-fitting for a friend's wedding in the early evening. Following this we were stuck for dinner ideas so we headed to nearby Newtown for some inspiration as King Street is littered with a broad spectrum of cuisines. Over the years I have walked past Hikaru numerous times but have never happened to dine there. So with Monsieur Poisson’s love of Japanese food, we wandered in to give it a try.

The entrance to Hikaru is a little hidden as the doorway is not on King Street, although the restaurant itself is. On the wall opposite the entrance is a massive hanging feature bearing the massive kanji character for ‘hikaru’.

After spending quite a bit of time perusing the menu, we start with the gyu tataki. The beef is sliced a little thicker than what we’re used to but the dressing is quite nice. There is way too much white onion accompanying the beef and I am intrigued by the adornment of carrot threads and alfalfa sprouts. We also have the agedashi mix of tofu and eggplant where the tofu is coated in a thin, light batter but the eggplant is a bit on the oily side. And like the agedashi tofu at Ju Ju, this also lacks the usual bonito flakes.

Next, we have a serve of takoyaki that do come decorated with bonito flakes. The deep-fried balls of potato and octopus have a crispy crust enclosing pillowy potato softness within. The deep-fried soft-shell crab is nicely crisp as well and comes interestingly decorated with lots and lots of tobiko. So much so that we’re left trying to rescue rogue bits of tiny tobiko with the comparatively cumbersome chopsticks long after the crab has disappeared from the plate.

For something more substantial than the range of snacks we’ve enjoyed, we also get a ‘Deluxe Bento’ to share. It comes with the usual miso soup and rice, as well as a small serve of edamame which is less common. For us, the highlights of this bento are the seaweed salad, which is flavoursome and plentiful, and the teriyaki chicken, which is sweet and sticky but not overly salty. The tempura selection is not bad apart from the batter being a little too thick, but unfortunately the tuna sashimi is a letdown with it being rather tasteless and possessing a grainy texture. However the biggest disappointment is the sushi rice – such an important element of Japanese cuisine – which has been overly compressed and takes on this dense, chewy, stodgy texture.

I settle the bill and feel guilty that I suggested a place that didn’t meet our expectations, especially seeing as it is Monsieur Poisson’s birthday. So we try to make up for it by going across the road for dessert at ice+slice. This is another place, with a massive ice-cream cone shaped bin outside the doorway, that I have passed by for years but never tried. There is a small amount of seating at the front of the store near the ice-cream counter, but through a short hallway is a large room at the back with plenty of cosy seating.

We settle down at the front of the store and order a cinnamon waffle with vanilla gelato. The waffle is crisp and crusted with sugary bits and has deep divots to catch any melting ice-cream. The vanilla gelato is pleasingly smooth and flecked with vanilla seeds. And the billowy white swirls that are on top of the gelato in the picture above are not soft-serve ice-cream – it is in fact whipped cream of a size which equals the scoop of gelato itself!

I’m not a fan of cream so I politely excuse it to one side before sharing the dessert with Monsieur Poisson. He has a caffe latte to accompany proceedings and we chat about returning in future to try the pizzas.

Hikaru

134 King St, Newtown (entrance at dead end of Bucknell St), Newtown NSW

Tel: (02) 9516 5959

Opening Hours:  7days  11:30am-10:30pm

ice+slice gelateria e pizzeria

135 King St, Newtown NSW

Tel: (02) 9516 4595

Opening Hours:  Mon-Fri  11am-late

                        Sat & Sun  9am-late (breakfast menu until 4pm)

happy eating!

Sushi Train Chatswood, 2 Sept 2009

Sushi Train at Chatswood is one of our regular haunts as it is in a convenient location and parking is not an issue with it being part of Westfield Chatswood and having street access. We like it in particular as it offers a simple and seemingly more traditional sushi selection as other places increasingly move towards a fancier fusion-style. I have troubles with maki-sushi that have upwards of three or four fillings plus another two or three ingredients laid on top. By the time I’ve put it in my mouth and chewed it, all I can taste is a general seafood flavour punctuated by occasional crunchy bits while individual components are rendered no longer discernible.

This particular day there are a couple of specials going around that do not normally appear on the conveyor. One is the tempura asparagus nigiri, which is light and crispy but unfortunately the asparagus spears get pulled out from the batter when we bite into it. Or perhaps this is more a deficiency on the part of my biting skills!

The other special is tofu and tuna cakes served with a salad garnish and Japanese mayonnaise. The patties are smooth through the addition of tofu but do not taste strongly of tuna. As a result they would make a good choice for those who dislike strong fishy flavours.

Next I choose a plate of inari as I like the sweet, slightly sticky tofu pockets. The inari here have sesame seeds mixed through the sushi rice, so avoid if you have a sesame allergy. Then it’s onto the California roll for the playful pop of tobiko and the crunch of cucumber.

We have a plate of seaweed salad ships with crunchy seaweed salad that has been spiked with a bit of chilli. We spot some freshly made mini-tempura nigiri and quickly grab a plate. Battered prawns are brushed with the tiniest amount of teriyaki sauce before being decorated with a squiggle of mayonnaise.

Then it’s time for a couple of warm treats in the form of aburi gyu nigiri and chicken karaage udon. The beef is thinly sliced and grilled so that the edges are crisp but so that there’s still plenty of juiciness upon biting into it. A sweet, sticky glaze tops the beef as well as a few stripes of mayonnaise and a pile of spring onions. I quickly fish the chicken karaage pieces out of the hot broth before they go soggy and happily slurp the udon along with the wakame seaweed.

Monsieur Poisson orders a couple of his favourites: hotate nigiri and uni ships. These are exceptional when made fresh and the seafood are firm while retaining a little chill. The scallops here are sweet and a good size. The sea urchin is something I unfortunately fail to appreciate, as I more often than not find it has a marked fishy odour.

Sushi Train makes a salmon and caviar roll which we both like – salmon slices rolled around sushi rice and topped with ikura (salmon roe). We finish off with aburi salmon nigiri where the salmon is blowtorched after a sprinkling with salt. Make sure you order this when the cool-faced, balding, moustached sushi chef is on duty, as he does a crispier job on the salmon than the less experienced chefs.

Sushi Train Chatswood

376 Victoria Ave (entrance on Anderson St), Chatswood NSW

Tel: (02) 9415 3011

Opening Hours:  7days  11am-9:30pm

happy eating!

McDonald’s Angus Burgers, 1 Sept 2009

Seeing a mid-week session of Avenue Q which started at 7pm made for a strange dinnertime. Monsieur Poisson and I had a light snack before heading into the city and heartily laughed our way through the show until it wrapped up around 9:30pm. Feeling peckish post-show and having my curiosity stirred by Angus burger posters through the week meant for only one convenient meal option…

I ate a lot of McDonald’s food during my teenage years, as expected, and definitely more than I have consumed in the past ten years combined. It was a rite of passage and borne out of familiarity, if not childhood nostalgia, for the bulk of people my age – to rely on McDonald’s as an economic staple and then to move away from it as tastes grew more discerning and palates more refined. But McDonald’s has done a lot of growing up in this time as well, and its menu has gone through many reinventions since. With the introduction of two Angus burgers to its fold – the ‘Grand Angus’ and ‘Mighty Angus’ – McDonald’s is definitely branching into the gourmet and aiming to appeal to a different type of customer.

Monsieur Poisson and I wander into the McDonald’s near the corner of the George Street and King Street, which is quite appropriate for our Angus burger tasting as it has a sandstone frontage, high ceilings and an upstairs dining area with upholstered seats. As McDonald’s says, “It’s a little bit fancy!”

We order one of the burgers as part of a meal set, the other on its own and take both to the upstairs section. We open both boxes and have a peek at what’s inside before we start devouring. We are met with pillowy soft burger buns dusted with flour which are much larger than usual, although I doubt they are true sourdough as billed. Next we lift the top bun off each to see thickly sliced rings of red onion; ones which are a bit too thick for my liking. I start picking off some of the onion when we notice something is amiss – where is the promised bacon and zesty relish on our ‘Mighty Angus’?!

So Monsieur Poisson wanders downstairs to the service counters with the offending burger and waits while the missing components are restored. When he brings it back upstairs we inspect it once again and, although there is now a juicy slice of bacon, the zesty relish is still missing but we can no longer be bothered pursuing it.

The Angus burgers have larger beef patties than standard McDonald’s burgers and are somewhat juicier, but still have that slightly squeaky McDonald’s patty texture. The round patties which are mismatched from the rectangular buns, are sandwiched between two slices of yellow, McDonald’s processed cheese and, with the relish remaining absent from the ‘Mighty Angus’, both burgers taste fairly similar. Of course the ‘Mighty Angus’ is the meatier option with not a piece of greenery in sight, but it has to be admitted that the selection of “gourmet baby salad leaves” on our ‘Grand Angus’ is dominated by iceberg lettuce which appears in hand-torn chunks, not even shreds.

Overall the burgers do not meet our expectations, partly because of the confusion over the ‘Mighty Angus’, but they are a good size for their price and taste less ‘fast food-ish’ than the usual McDonald’s fare. And for those of you who are still not convinced of McDonald’s sexy new image then you need to take a look at this post from A Table For Two. It is simply the funniest turn-on of a meal encounter I have ever read!

McDonald’s

…located almost everywhere!

happy eating!

Koi, 28 Aug 2009

Koi is located in Woolwich, one of Sydney’s many peninsula suburbs resulting from the inlet that is Sydney Harbour. Koi is tucked away almost at the end of Woolwich Road near a pub, in an area which is predominantly occupied by large houses. Diagonally across the road is Clarkes Point Reserve which offers distant views of Sydney Harbour Bridge and is a popular location for outdoor wedding ceremonies.

Monsieur Poisson and I were at an engagement party when Mr Jetset, knowing Monsieur Poisson’s love of sushi, recommended that we try Koi. He said the sashimi and sushi were both excellent and that he had become a regular customer through going back several times for both. But somehow through conflicting schedules of availability for the usual suspects, almost a year had passed since this recommendation to actually dining here taking place. In the meantime I had recommended Koi to Mistress who, along with her boyfriend, returned positive reports.

Koi is decorated in detail both inside and out. A pair of stone lions greets you at the heavy, dark wood doorway which leads to a small lobby-style area. Around the corner from an indoor garden water feature is the main dining room replete with a sushi bar which emits a hot pink glow from underneath. Lighting within the restaurant is soft and warm, and there are a couple of small rooms for private dining.

Our table reservation is confirmed by telephone call from Koi staff a few hours prior to our booking time. Upon arrival we are seated at a large, heavy looking, dark wood table in keeping with the décor, towards the back of the dining area. Hot green tea is ordered all round and we feel bad for the diligent waitress who continually refills our cups without request throughout the evening, as a teapot is not provided at the table. Points for service, however!

As our first few dishes arrive, Dr King becomes evidently enamoured with the array of plates used to present our food. Chunky stoneware with hewn edges in earthy colours feature heavily and we only see the same style plate appear twice across all the dishes we order – and that’s with four different desserts as well! But more about that later… We begin the evening with ‘Seared Scallop Carpaccio with Soy Butter’ which is surprisingly fragrant of butter from the moment it is set on our table, but subtle in taste. The scallop slices are large, evenly seared, arranged in overlapping flower petal fashion, decorated with a coral salmon roe centre and finished with a sprinkling of chopped chives.

The ‘Scampi Carpaccio with Nut Oil and Red Wine Vinegar’ is much less attractive in appearance, resembling more a platter of mush where the scampi meat is almost identical in colour to the centre of the plate. Do not let looks deceive you however, as it is a beautiful balance of fragrant nuttiness, faintly tart vinegar and soft, sweet scampi flesh.

We then continue with salmon toro sashimi which is simultaneously bouncy yet melt-in-the-mouth. Slices of salmon belly are served alongside ones rolled up to enclose avocado and fine lengths of cucumber like an inside-out maki roll. But even this calibre of beauty pales in comparison when placed next to the tuna chutoro sashimi, with its smooth, fatty texture which is not at all sticky on the palate. It is not cheap but absolutely worth its 'market price' cost. Koi also has the fattier ootoro which we will make a point of trying the next time we are there.

Our ‘Soft-shell Crab Roll’ and ‘Spicy Tuna Roll’ arrive served on the same plate. Warm soft-shell crab is rolled with cucumber, avocado, tobiko, mayonnaise and enclosed in rice and nori. Biting into the roll gives a satisfying crunch, not often experienced at other sushi bars. The spicy tuna roll has tuna sashimi rolled with mixed Japanese pepper, leek, sesame oil and shaved bonito. Both are simple in construction but sophisticated in flavour.

The ‘Coral Roll’ contains plenty of seafood with crab meat (NOT crab stick), scallop and cucumber enclosed in rice before being overlayed with thick salmon slices.

For more substantial mains, we have two dishes to share. The first is ‘Kamo’, which is a miso duck breast, alongside roast beetroot on sweet potato purée and a 62 degree duck egg. The duck is sweet with crispy skin and succulent, juicy flesh. The beetroot is tender and sweet. The duck egg has a sexy wobble and reveals silken innards when pierced.

Secondly we have the ‘Wagyu' featuring a 180 gram, grade 6+ Wagyu steak chargrilled, served with pickled capsicum and tarragon butter. The tender beef has a well-seasoned, thin, smoky crust which is beautiful on its own, but adopts another dimension when dipped into the creamy, Béarnaise-like sauce.

Then it’s onto dessert, and it is where our meal takes on a markedly European influence. Between us we order four desserts which covers most of the menu. But before we get into the swing of sweet things, we are treated to complimentary palate cleansers of green tea and white chocolate mousse with green tea ice. The mousse is so smooth and enjoyable that we all agree we would happily have it as a dessert in its own right.

I decide to have the dessert special of ‘Azuki and raspberry soufflé with raspberry sorbet’, and am rewarded with a fragrant and light soufflé with a crusty top that is studded with berries. We all think we heard wrong about there being an azuki component and assume it has been puréed into the soufflé batter, when I discover a smooth azuki centre hidden well into the middle of the pot. The sorbet is fluffy and tart, offering pleasant contrast to the soufflé.

Gingerbreadman has the ‘Black sesame crème brûlée with apple and sake purée, apple sorbet and sesame tuille’. It has a most surprising presentation for a crème brûlée, with slices being sandwiched between layers of sesame tuilles. There are sesames seeds everywhere! The apple sorbet is intensely refreshing but we don’t detect any of the sake.

Monsieur Poisson has the ‘Triple chocolate slice with chamomile poached pear, mango ice-cream and kiwi purée’. The slice is dense but not overly fudgy or brownie-like. The intense chocolate flavour is offset by the lightness of the pear spiked with tea flavour and the almost sorbet-like mango ice-cream.

Dr King has chosen the ‘Macadamia cake with pumpkin ice-cream and honey mousse’. The presentation is not what we expect when it arrives resembling a terrine, with the cake layer at the base, ice-cream in the middle and mousse sitting on top. The pumpkin ice-cream is subtle in flavour and not as unusual as it sounds. It actually tastes quite good paired with the honey mousse.

Feeling fully satisfied, we ask for our bill which arrives with some complimentary after-dinner chocolates – gold-dusted fishies served on a chilled platter.

Koi is a traditional Japanese restaurant incorporating a few, modern fusion touches used to good effect. It is undoubtedly the best Japanese meal I’ve had yet. Complemented by excellent table service, intricate interiors and beautifully-presented food on rustic servingware, it provides an intimate and authentic dining experience.

Koi

102 Woolwich Rd, Woolwich NSW

Tel: (02) 9817 6030

Opening Hours:  Mon & Tues  CLOSED

Wed  6pm-10pm (dinner only)

Thurs  12pm-3pm (lunch)

           6pm-10pm (dinner)

                        Fri & Sat  12pm-3pm (lunch)

                                       6pm-10:30pm

                        Sun  12pm-3pm (lunch)

                                6pm-9:30pm (dinner)

*EDIT*: As at mid-2011, Koi has been "temporarily closed" according to their voicemail message.

happy eating!

LATEST UPDATE: Koi scored 14/20 in The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2010, not quite making it to the mark for a Chef’s Hat Award.

L'étoile (again!), 26 Aug 2009

When occasions such as my birthday or our anniversary swing around, I jokingly suggest to Monsieur Poisson that it is the perfect opportunity for him to cook me a meal. He, being almost incapable of cooking, usually manages to weasel his way out of culinary expression by finding a nice place to treat me to dinner instead. To this day, I have yet to sample any of his cooking that is beyond instant noodles or steamed rice (from an electric cooker).

So after hassling him for the better part of the day about what our dinner plans were to be, Monsieur Poisson finally revealed he had made a reservation at L’étoile. This was no mean feat as Manu Feildel’s bistro has become markedly more difficult to obtain a table reservation since we were last there, and especially for weekends, since his involvement with Masterchef. To say I was excited was an understatement and I could hardly contain myself as I dolled-up for the occasion.

We have booked for a relatively early start to dinner and arrive to an almost empty restaurant. We are seated at a cosy table at one of the front corners of the bistro, looking out onto the front of the converted terrace house and Glenmore Road. Having sat at the back courtyard the previous time, I am most happy with this arrangement as it allows for a great view of the cream and red notes of the interior. I hear French music from years gone by playing in the background until a middle-aged lady seated later than us requests its volume to be lowered. This is a superfluous move as within the next half hour the bistro fills with diners and their happy chatter drowns out the music anyway.

Although there is only the two of us dining this time around, we receive a complimentary basket of crusty baguette pieces that is equivalent in size to that when we dined as a group of five. The bread smells wonderfully fresh and the extra pieces come in quite handy for our entrée.

We order an entrée to share, which is a ‘Choucroute with bacon, seared scallop, vongole and beurre blanc’ and comes with a potato alongside. Choucroute being a French version of sauerkraut is quite mild in its tartness and is balanced well by the saltiness of bacon. The scallop has excellent colouring through being seared, whilst retaining a soft smoothness right in the centre. The vongole are medium-sized, meaty and its shells are great for scooping up small amounts of beurre blanc. We can’t get enough of this sauce and mop up the plate with some of the extra bread from before.

Monsieur Poisson orders the ‘Boeuf du Bucher’ which now comes with a Roquefort sauce. The butcher’s cut of beef on this occasion is Wagyu skirt steak with a mildly pungent blue cheese sauce and potato croquettes on the side. It is very rich and filling.

I choose the ‘Truite aux Amandes’ which is a pan-fried rainbow trout with almond butter. Two skin-on fillets of rainbow trout have been fried crisp and given a generous scattering of toasted flaked almonds. The sauce is light in texture but does get greasy on the palate towards the end.

But nothing that a complimentary palate cleanser cannot fix! This time it’s a champagne and watermelon sorbet to ready us for dessert.

We can only fit in one dessert between the two of us and choose the ‘Apple Tarte Tatin’ based on our fond memories of the ‘Pear Tarte Tatin’. It is a different season with a different fruit but the tart is still as impressive with its lightly toffeed edges and tender, caramelised fruit. And let’s not forget that quenelle of crème fraîche sitting on top.

Throughout the evening we spot Monsieur Feildel in casual gear socialising with some of the diners. I secretly hope that he will introduce himself to our table but it appears he is only greeting people that he actually knows. *SIGH!* I live in hope that it may happen another time, as I know I will be back again.

L’étoile

211 Glenmore Rd, Paddington NSW

Tel: (02) 9332 1577

Opening Hours:  Mon-Thurs  6pm-11pm (dinner only)

                        Fri-Sun  12pm-3pm (lunch)

                                    6pm-11pm (dinner)

happy eating!

LATEST UPDATE: L’étoile scored 15/20 in The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2010, earning its first Chef’s Hat Award.